


Faithful unto death

by Stella_Luna777



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Gore, Crime Solving, Crimes & Criminals, F/M, Family, Fluff, Good Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi Has Issues, M/M, Romance, Shimura Danzou Being an Asshole, Swearing, Uchiha Obito Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:35:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29633346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stella_Luna777/pseuds/Stella_Luna777
Summary: Obito Uchiha had thought he was done with the part of his life that consisted of hunting criminals. He had thought he could turn his back and walk away, never to be bothered again by the institution he had given his all and that had broken him beyond repair.But once a member of New Scotland Yard, always a member of New Scotland Yard.And when old enemies rise again, can he really stay away, or had it always been temporary?Then there’s also the silver-haired Detective Inspector that won’t leave him alone.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi & Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi/Uchiha Obito, Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina, Past Uchiha Obito/Nohara Rin - Relationship, Uchiha Fugaku/Uchiha Mikoto, Uchiha Itachi & Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke & Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 3
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yep, I went ahead and wrote another story whilst my other ones are still not done. Don't worry they will all be finished since I have them all planned out already, it just takes a bit time to write.  
> My problem is that when I have an idea I have to write it down otherwise I won't be able to do anything else.  
> Updates will be very slow but it won't be forgotten!
> 
> Love, Stella

_The music started to set in, everyone stood up and Obito gazed awed at the woman floating down the aisle. His eyes were glued to her gentle smile, he barely noticed the gorgeous wedding dress – snow-white with lace ornaments - hugging her body charmingly or the way her locks of chocolate brown hair cascaded down her back beautifully. No, he only saw her smile that lighted up the world and he felt his own lips twitch into a grin._

_He loved her. By god, did he love her and now he would finally declare his love in front of God and everyone who was here._

_Her father kissed her on the cheek before letting go of her as they reached the altar, giving Obito a proud look as he joined his wife in the crowd._

_“Hey,” she whispered, cheeks a rosy colour and eyes gleaming with happiness._

_“Hey,” replied Obito, hoarsely._

_Her sight had taken his ability to speak without making himself look like an idiot._

_Suddenly, she snatched his hand – he hadn’t noticed that he was trembling – holding it gently and rubbing small circles over his skin. Gratefully, he interlocked their fingers. She always knew what he needed. He could always trust that she was there to catch him._

_The speech of the priest was a muffled noise in his ear, all he heard was the memory of her delighted laugh as he asked her to marry him._

_Before he could drown in memories he had of that amazing woman, he was interrupted by her squeezing his hand. Her eyes twinkled and she mouthed “Pay attention, honey.”._

_Blushing, Obito grinned awkwardly. She couldn’t blame him if he got lost in memories of her, right? Afterall, it was still hard to believe that she wanted to marry him. That she willingly wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. That she honestly loved him._

_When the priest cleared his throat pointedly, Obito suddenly realised that it was time for his vows and if he hadn’t been nervous before, he definitely was now._

_“I, Obito Uchiha, promise you, Rin Nohara, that I will be your husband from this day forward, to be faithful and honest in every way, to honour the faith and trust you place in me, to love and respect you in your successes and in your failures, to make you laugh and to be there when you cry,-” his voice broke, he never wanted to see her cry “to care for you in sickness and in health, to softly kiss you when you are hurting, and to be your companion and your friend, on this journey that we make together.”_

_Excitedly, he took the offered ring – a small gold band – and held Rin’s hand as if he feared she’d shatter like glass. The ornament touched her skin; Obito looked up to lock eyes with his love – her eyes brimming with unshed tears – and_

Gasping, he jolted up, panting, and haggardly looking around.

It took him some time to calm his breathing and to realise that it had just been a dream, again. A dream that had come so close to the truth but would never be reality. Exhausted, Obito flopped down, rolling over and pulling the rough blanket over his head. In his erratic behaviour he had caught a glance of his alarm clock and 6 a.m. was simply too early for today.

Nevertheless, Obito lay wide awake, staring into the void for another hour. The brunet had tried to go back to sleep, he really had but if all you could see were the empty eyes of the woman you had once loved more than life itself and her blood covering your hands as you frantically try to save her, sleep was difficult to find. 

When his alarm clock rung, Obito knew he had to get up and face the world.

Groaning, he heaved himself out of his bed. Like everyone else on this world he had good days and bad days, his bad days just unfortunately included a stinging pain all over his right side. Some days he couldn’t even bear to look into the mirror without having a breakdown.

Even though, he’d do it all over again without hesitation, if it meant saving that little boy, it didn’t mean that he couldn’t find himself disgusting, an abomination.

Today was one of those bad days, he could feel it.

Obito stumbled into his small, dimly lit bathroom, avoiding the dull mirror with the cracks – it had been an unbelievably bad week for him, and the sight of his face had been the last straw - like the plague as he went through his usual morning routine.

The fabric of his shirt felt uncomfortable on his irritated skin, but he didn’t have money for softer clothes, not that he would have bought them even if he could. There were more important things to spend money on, like bills, food, and pain medication. Comfort wasn’t really on top of that list.

That reminded him that he had an appointment at the St. Thomas’ Hospital today, meaning that he would have to leave his little safe haven and actually meet people. People that would only pity him for his scarred face.

Never mind, that going to the hospital meant that he had to be especially careful as it was only a ten-minute walk from his old workplace, and he hadn’t avoided everyone for the past three years for nothing.

Wrinkling his nose, Obito dared to glance into the mirror only to find the face of an old, ugly man. Women would say they found scars hot, that it made him look more manly, that was until they realised that his skin was permanently disfigured. He couldn’t begin to understand what Rin had ever seen in him. What had she seen in those tired dark eyes, in the chapped thin lips, the hollowed cheeks and disfigured skin that had made her love him?

Obito managed to look into the mirror for another moment, desperately trying to find an answer to the question that had haunted his mind for years now, before turning away and slamming the bathroom door shut behind him.

Breakfast would have to wait for another day as he was already late for his appointment. Aunt Mikoto would surely feed him; in the impossible case he did decide to visit his family for once.

God, this day would truly be horrible, wouldn’t it? It wasn’t even Lunchtime and he was already drowning in memories.

Shaking his head, Obito pulled his shoes on – and god did it hurt to bend down, the scarred skin stretching in a stabbing pain – grabbed his keys and put a cap on his head, pulling it deeply into his face, before leaving his small apartment.

He truly hated this day.

* * *

When Inspector Kurenai Yuuhi had gone on patrol with Sergeant Shino Aburame this morning, she had not expected her day to end with patting said Sergeants’ back comfortingly as he threw up for the second time. Nor had she expected to feel her own breakfast making the way up her throat.

“There, there, Sergeant. Just sit down for a moment while I make the necessary calls,” she told the young man, fighting to keep her voice steady.

“Yes, Ma’am,” muttered the shaken man dutifully.

Kurenai stepped away, pulling out her phone to call a forensic team to secure the crime scene. The next call was to some officers for backup to keep the public away. It would only be a matter of time before the first joggers or dog walkers would walk over here, Islington Green was a busy park after all.

When all of that was done and she was certain all necessary calls had been made she turned back to her Sergeant. In her entire career of thirteen years of being on the Emergency Response and Patrol Team she had seen some pretty messed up things – murder, rape victims, theft, kidnapping – but never had she seen something like that, and she knew with the same certainty that the earth was circling the sun, that that crime scene would be her new nightmare for years.

A body –female – with a slit throat and covered in cuts and lacerations, looking like it had been mauled by a wild animal; the culprit hadn’t even had the decency to cover his victim up, stealing her of her last dignity even in death. All around dark red marks had been painted – fans, if Kurenai wasn’t mistaken, with the victim’s own blood. Miraculously, the head was the only uninjured body part. However, where once a pair of eyes sat, there was now only a bloody void.

Cruel, Kurenai would say if somebody asked. Messy. The culprit hadn’t cared about the pain of his victim, nor about the sanitary of his work. There were no knife cuts surrounding the empty eye sockets, only scratch marks. The dark-haired Inspector didn’t want to imagine the culprit clawing the woman’s eyes out with his fingers or the pain the woman had experienced before having her throat cut.

A shudder ran down her spine as she averted her eyes from the corps. She couldn’t even cover her up until forensic was here, lest she tainted any evidence there might be.

“You okay, Sergeant?” she instead asked the brunet man.

Shino nodded weakly, still a bit pale around the nose.

“Yes Ma’am. Sorry, Ma’am. I know it’s my job, but I’ve just never seen something like this. I’ll be fine in a minute.”

Kurenai gave him a faint smile, squeezing his shoulder.

“Take your time, Sergeant. I remember my first murder case; admittedly it wasn’t something like this.”

Meanwhile, Forensic had arrived and started isolating the crime scene.

“I better call Homicide and Major Crime Command; I believe this is their jurisdiction.”

* * *

“Goddammit!”

Mikoto Uchiha threw her freshly brewed cup of coffee across her office, the shattering noise of porcelain not nearly as satisfying as she would have liked.

The poor Sergeant that had handed her the case file stared terrified at the black-haired woman, trembling in his shoes.

Taking deep breaths, Mikoto forced herself to calm down or, at the very least, hide her fury from her officers. It wouldn’t do for some worried sergeant to call Commissioner Senju down here and ultimately, get her expelled from this case. No way in hell would she let this damned case go. They would have to pry it from her cold, dead fingers first.

Three years.

For three long years they had no lead on the man that had attempted to murder her family and now that the man – and by god she knew it was the same asshole – had made an appearance again, she’d find him. She’d put a bullet into his head before letting him near her family again. They had all been scarred by that event, some more than others and there was one member of her beloved family that had lost everything.

She would not stop hunting that man until he was six feet under ground or rotting in a cell for the rest of his pathetic life.

“Get me Detective Inspector Kakashi Hatake. Tell him I wanted him here yesterday!” she ordered tensely, returning to her sear behind the sturdy oak desk.

If there was one person, she knew would be able to close that case it would be the Hatake brat. Despite being a lazy pushover most of the time, the man did live up to the legend of the White Fang’s prodigious son. Now, if he would only be a likeable person too.

Feeling a headache coming, Mikoto rubbed her temple soothing.

It counted as a small miracle when Kakashi Hatake appeared in her office only half an hour after she had sent for him. Usually, the brat would take his time, letting his superiors wait for up to two hours. If anyone else tried that sort of behaviour they would find themselves fired before getting even a single word out, however, Kakashi’s work was magnificent and he had played a major point in uncovering the corruption that had befallen New Scotland Yard’s Management Board a couple of years ago.

“Commander,” the silver-haired detective greeted her lazily but Mikoto didn’t hold her position without reason and recognised the sharpness beneath that layer of boredom.

“DI Hatake, I’m glad you could come so fast.”

Mikoto handed him the file without further instruction and for the first time, Kakashi saw exhaustion and weariness etched into his superior’s face. He had always considered Mikoto Uchiha as a strong and capable woman and not once had he seen or heard reports of her being overwhelmed. Whatever was in that file affected her hard. Curiously, he flipped through the report.

Arching an eyebrow, he looked up wondering.

“The MO is unusual, Commander. It doesn’t make sense for the suspect to rip out the victim’s eyes. Who even wants another person’s eyes? And those marks, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them before. And forensic definitely didn’t find any DNA?”

Kakashi delivered his little deduction in his usually teasing tone; it wouldn’t do for the Commander to think he was already invested into that case. His reputation would be tarnished if he was anything other than a lazy, stuck-up genius after all.

“This is no time for jokes, Kakashi,” reprimanded Mikoto the man tiredly. “Go to the archives and take the file on the attempted murder of the Uchiha family. It will all make sense then. Kakashi, this case will be your absolute priority, am I clear? I don’t care who’s trying to tell you anything else, but your job is to get this person down from the streets, preferable before he finds another victim. You have access to all resources of the department, if you need more, let me know and I’ll talk to Commissioner Senju.”

Kakashi’s curiosity had spiked as the woman had mentioned the files of the Uchiha murder. Obviously, he had known about the attempted homicide of the family. Hell, it had been the most spoken topic for months; there was not a single officer in NSY who hadn’t heard about the almost-tragedy, though the details weren’t really clear. He was a special case as he had two of the concerned parties on his team and another as his superior.

“And Kakashi.”

Said detective tore his eyes from the photo of the victim to look at his superior, the woman wearing a cold-blooded smirk.

“Keep my son safe. If you feel he’s too close, pull him out. The same goes for my nephew. That man has already damaged my family before, I won’t let him destroy us any further.”

“Understood Ma’am.”

Saluting, Kakashi strolled out of the office, face set into a stony mask. Sasuke Uchiha was his Sergeant, and while the boy could be a little shit and Kakashi had threatened more than once to demand a change, he was still under his protection. During his career he had gotten more than one officer killed but ever since joining Mikoto Uchiha and the Homicide and Major Crime Command he had found the strength to change. It had been a year since then and he had been able to go through the entire year without having another’s blood on his hands. Kakashi would not allow himself to fail now.

Grimly, he called for the Uchiha murder file and shut himself into his office, but not before giving his Sergeant the day off and ignoring the worried looks of the other Detective Inspector, Shisui Uchiha.

* * *

Obito had had an exceedingly long and very tiring day consisting of hospital check-ups, avoiding Commissioner Senju like the plague as well as running for his life when he had met his cousin Sasuke on his way home.

He had just crossed St. James’s Park when out of nowhere the raven-haired man had appeared, had taken a double look as if disbelieving it could really be Obito, and had started a run for him. Obito had done the only logical thing: turning on his heels and running like the devil was after him.

God, that little shit had become fit. It had taken half an hour to get rid of his tail and Obito had never felt more unfit, the years out of action making themselves known in the most obnoxious way possible.

All he wanted now was to crawl into his bed and sleep and preferable never wake up again. It was a tempting thought and that was how Obito knew he had to get out of his head. He hadn’t known, however, that getting out of his head meant colliding with some stranger and getting hot coffee spilled all over himself.

“Oh, shit! That thing burns!” cursing, he frantically wiped the hot beverage from his skin, momentarily ignoring that his cap had fallen from his head, giving the stranger free view of his face.

“You’re such an idiot,” hissed the stranger as he scrambled to his feet again, picking up the paper files he had lost during their collision.

So, usually Obito was a truly kind and patient man, but it had been a taxing day and his skin hurt even more now, so when the stranger hissed at him, he snapped.

“Excuse me?” he growled, glaring at the man.

Who the hell even had silver hair other than old perverts?

“You’re just as much at fault as I’m!”

The man stared at Obito as if he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t just rolled over and accepted the blame. What kind of asshole was he to not even offer a hand up?

“Well, since I’m not as dumb as you, I believe the fault lies entirely by you. Now, I’m quite the busy man, something I’m sure you don’t know anything about, so see you never and if I do see you by any chance you can expect the bill of my dry cleaner.”

Speechlessly, Obito stared after the man as he hastened down the street, bumping into some other innocent pedestrians without care.

The man was such an asshole that not even his admittedly gorgeous face could hide it.

“Are you alright, sir?”

A middle-aged woman with unusual purple hair held up her hand for Obito to take, in the other she carried a bag of groceries.

Forcing a friendly smile on his face, Obito reached for her hand, accepting the help to get to his feet. The woman quickly bent down to pick up his cap, which he realised only now had been missing and gave it to him.

“Thank you, miss,” he said politely, pulling the cap deep over his face. “Have a nice evening.”

Obito walked away as fast as he could, conversing with other people still made his entire skin crawl and he had hit his limit for the next month a couple of hours ago.

* * *

Hours after the loss of his coffee, Kakashi paced up and down in his office with his hands pushed into his pockets and deeply concentrated. The first study of the Uchiha almost-murder had thrown up dozens of questions, so he had done the only sensible thing. Search for an answer for every single one. By now he had read, studied, and summarized short of a hundred cases and the people in the archives were sure to laugh about him, believing that he had finally lost it. Nevertheless, he still hadn’t an answer for one simply question.

“Who the hell is Obito Uchiha?!”


	2. Chapter 2

Shisui skipped into the office, a cup of coffee in his hand and a smile on his face. Freshly brewed coffee from his favourite coffee shop in the morning was heaven. Almost nothing would be able to bring him down as soon as he had cherished the drink blessed by gods. He planned to enjoy it in peace and quiet before attacking the tower of paperwork that would undoubtedly already be on his desk. That was truly one of the few drawbacks of his job; though, watching Obito flounder around as he had forgotten another report had made it enjoyable.

As soon as Shisui caught himself thinking about him, he cut the thought off. His nose scrunched up, taking another sniff of his godly coffee as he locked all thoughts involving the man away again.

He had his eyes closed as he pushed open the office door and as the dark-haired man opened them, stealing a glance into the other Detective Inspector’s office, he saw said DI lunging in his chair. A dozen scrunched up coffee cups were littering the floor and hundreds of case files were scattered everywhere. The office looked like a storm had torn through it and as Shisui locked eyes with the silver-haired Detective a cold shiver ran down his spine.

Two dark, intense pools stared at him, sizing him up like a predator would do to his prey.

Cluelessly, Shisui waved carefully, his hand tightly clutching his coffee.

Sometimes, coffee was needed to calm an over-worked detective but by god, Shisui didn’t want to give up his coffee! He had fought tooth and nail for it; you wouldn’t believe how rude some people could be in the morning while waiting in a cue.

“Good morning, Kakashi,” he said awkwardly.

Suddenly, the detective flung himself out of his seat, strolling towards Shisui, who had to stop himself from inching away at the sharp look.

Thrusting a handful of papers – all crumbled up and with no chance for Shisui to know what they are about – against his chest, Kakashi growled: “Who the hell is Obito Uchiha?!”

The Uchiha family had been blessed with pleasing fair skin, one that a lot of people would die for, but as Kakashi asked him a question that should have been so simple – so easy to answer – Shisui’s skin took on a colour as white as a corpse. This time, he couldn’t prevent the step back.

Gulping, Shisui managed to ask weakly: “What?”

“Obito Uchiha! Who is he?” repeated Kakashi harshly whilst jabbing his finger against Shisui’s chest, though for the Uchiha the detective could have stabbed him in his heart all the same.

The change was abrupt, and suddenly Shisui was no longer staring meekly at Kakashi like the gazelle would look at the lion, but instead returned his gaze just as fiercely.

“What do you want from him?”

“I’ve got hundreds of cases with his involvement” Kakashi waved around the office heedlessly, pointing at the scattered case files “some of them were pretty big profile, and nowhere, not in any of the archives did I find his personal file! It took me ten cases to even realise that the guy works in our division!”

“Just drop it, Kakashi,” muttered the Uchiha, gripping his coffee cup tighter. “Obito doesn’t work here anymore.”

Apparently, Kakashi was wildly determined to find out more Obito as he ignored the other detective, instead beginning to pace up and down like a caged animal.

“What other division did he move to then?”

“God, why do you want to know?!”

Caught up in his mind, Kakashi hissed out: “Shisui! The Uchiha murderer is back and I need fucking Obito Uchiha’s help to catch him!”

A clattering noise stopped the fight that was sure to ensure in the next moment and both detectives turned around, catching sight of their sergeants standing in the door. It had to be Sasuke’s coffee cup that had fallen to the floor as Naruto still had his when he turned to run after his best friend.

Coldly, Shisui turned back to Kakashi, his eyes burning furiously as he fought to hold back the famous Uchiha temper and said blandly: “Obito Uchiha left the New Scotland Yard the day after the murder attempt. We haven’t been able to establish stable contact with him ever since. We know he is alive and lives somewhere in London because he visit’s our parents grave from time to time.”

“So, he’s missing? Where the fuck can I find him?!”

Kakashi tore through his hair agitated, frowning thoughtfully.

A bitter laugh ripped him out of his thoughts, and he looked at the other detective, only now seeing the anger in his eyes and the agony hidden beneath hostility.

“When you figure that out, tell him I’d like to see my brother at least one more time before my death.”

An ugly grimace marred Shisui’s face as he left, his coffee cup having joined the other ones on the floor.

Perplexed, Kakashi watched the back of the other detective as he slammed the door shut on his way out. Pushing his hands into his pockets, he returned to his files, even as his thoughts were somewhere else entirely.

Shisui had had tears in his eyes when he had left. He had managed to tell his co-worker – his friend – about a threat to his family in the most unsensitive way possible, hurting him without realising it. And by god, he hadn’t known that Obito was Shisui’s brother. With all the files he had read that night, he hadn’t thought to check his co-workers one too. It was a mistake he couldn’t forgive himself.

Sasuke had to find it out too. He was his sergeant, his responsibility, his sort-of-student, and he had come to cherish him like a little brother, just like Naruto. And now he had hurt him beyond measure.

Kakashi had seen what damage the young man had taken from that fateful night and he had also seen what Sasuke had done to get over it. He had been on a good way; he had finally stopped working himself to death and taken life a bit easier – most of it thanks to Naruto – and now Kakashi feared he might have destroyed any progress Sasuke had made.

An hour later, Sasuke and Naruto returned to the office. The blond gave him a shaky smile but Sasuke didn’t even acknowledge him.

* * *

Kakashi wasn’t surprised when later on the day Itachi caught him alone, leading him wordlessly to a quiet corner. Everyone in NSY knew of the overprotectiveness Itachi had for his little brother, so Kakashi had wondered when the young genius would corner him.

“Itachi,” drawled the silver-haired detective, hands hidden in his pockets. “how can I help you?”

“You know why I’m here, Kakashi,” reprimanded the man strangely gentle.

“I apologise that Sasuke had to find out about the Uchiha murderer this way. I honestly didn’t plan this.”

A placid smile crossed Itachi’s face and he nodded lightly.

“Thank you. But that’s not why I’m here. You’ve asked Shisui about Obito, right?”

“Yeah, he didn’t take it so well,” muttered Kakashi, unsure what else Itachi wanted of him.

The man nodded again, before looking around cautiously as if he expected someone to come out on any given moment.

“I don’t know where Obito is either,” he said quietly, eyes flitting around nervously. “From what Shisui told me you haven’t been able to find his personal file, which – admittedly – is strange and I need to get that checked out, but until then I thought it would be helpful to have a photo, this way you at least know what he looks like. I, also, have his previous address. Neither has helped us to find him but maybe you’ll be able to achieve what we failed to do. You should also talk to Commissioner Senju. She has connections to all of London’s hospitals and Obito had needed regular check-ups previously.”

Listening to Itachi, Kakashi couldn’t help but be a bit hopeful. Apparently, not the entire Uchiha family hated his guts and if he got a photo of his target, he could start searching for him through CCTV.

“Detective Inspector Hatake,” Itachi’s voice had changed from quiet and soft to harsh and unyielding in the matter of a moment. “Obito is part of my family and I owe him everything, so if I believe your involvement hurts him in any way, I will stop you. I share your desire to catch the murderer, believe me when I say I won’t be able to sleep peacefully until I know he’s gone, but not at the cost of him. Whatever you need, I will try to offer. So, if there’s the chance that you don’t need his involvement as much as you thought, I’d ask you to leave him alone.”

The threat was delivered clearly and Kakashi had no doubt that the Uchiha would find a way to get away with his murder unscratched if he so desired. That didn’t, however, prevent his adrenaline from rising as he thought about the lead in Itachi’s hand and he itched to have it. He felt the familiar excitement rise that filled him before every exciting case.

“I understand,” he uttered quickly as he noticed Itachi’s still fierce eyes on him.

With a tight-lipped nod, the black-haired Inspector handed Kakashi a photo.

For a moment Kakashi couldn’t believe his luck. He had seen the man in the photo before! The slightly round face with scars adoring his entire right side, the choppy jet-black hair, the dark eyes that seemed to shine like the sun – he remembered them hooded with dullness and anger – the thin lips that pulled into a bright smirk, the pale skin that was just a touch more tanned than Sasuke’s; he had seen them all before.

“That is Obito Uchiha?” he asked Itachi, suddenly his throat felt like sandpaper.

He didn’t think Itachi would lie to him, but the man in the photo was so different but at the same time so much like the man he had ran into yesterday.

The Uchiha arched a delicate eyebrow, answering slowly: “Yes?”

“Okay, good. That’s … good.” Kakashi was already on his way down to the IT department, muttering frantically to himself.

Left behind to watch the Hatake’s retreating back, Itachi wondered if it had been a good idea to help Kakashi. On one hand, he longed to get his older cousin back, he craved to have his family together again; but on the other hand, he understood why Obito had left. He couldn’t blame him for running, he’d have done the same.

* * *

“What do you mean you’ve lost him?! He was right there!” cursed Kakashi as the IT specialist told him he had lost sight of the target.

Scowling, Ko Hyuuga answered sharply: “DI Hatake, your target is exceptionally good. I’ve looked through every camera in the close vicinity to St. James park and was able to follow your target back to Soho but then he was gone. If you asked me, I’d say he knew exactly where the cameras were, and it is incredible that he managed to evade all of them. Personally, I don’t think you’ll find him that way, or only by a stroke of luck.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me! He can’t just disappear!” the silver-haired detective turned around sharply, pacing out of the IT department, not caring about the ruckus he was making.

 _‘Soho’_ he thought to himself. _‘I need a map. Soho, St. James Park, his old address in Kennington; with those points I can at least circle in where he’s most likely living. But first, I’ll talk to Commissioner Senju. If she knows which hospital Obito visits, I’d have another point.’_

* * *

It was evening by the time Kakashi found himself wandering through the streets of Soho.

Tsunade Senju had been only a small help in figuring out where Obito was, but Kakashi should have already known that. If the woman knew where to find him, Shisui would have asked her long ago. However, she had told him that Obito had visited the St. Thomas Hospital just yesterday and wouldn’t be there for another three months. Her entire explanation had been accompanied by her cursing the man as he had avoided her like the plague. To his question if she knew whether Obito visited any other hospitals Tsunade could only shrug. The hospitals knew to alert her when Obito came in; an advantage from having been a doctor herself was that she still had eyes and ears in most hospitals.

Before he had left her office, she had told him clearly and with jaded eyes: “Kakashi, Obito was a good detective, but the last case was too much, and he broke. I know how he feels, and I understand why he left; after Dan’s death I left the ranks as well. If you find him, be nice. He needs to want to come back himself, if you pressure him, he’ll just disappear again.”

Tsunade had been the only one to question his abilities to find one retired detective. Neither Shisui nor Itachi had said _‘if’_ but _‘when’_ and it was discouraging to have the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis be the one to question him.

In hindsight, he had to admit that the woman might not be so wrong. After Tsunade, Kakashi had also talked to Anko Mitarashi, the Inspector who had worked the Oto investigation as well, but neither her nor any of the other people he asked could tell him more than he already knew.

It was unnerving how many of his own acquaintances knew about Obito Uchiha, the Detective Inspector of Homicide and Major Crime Command, whilst he himself had never heard of the man before yesterday. To be fair, before joining Mikoto all he had cared about were his cases and the adrenaline rush that came with fighting the bad guys. He hadn’t even cared enough to remember the names of his previous partners; they all demanded a change after a month anyway. The shortest was actually a day and this time not exactly his fault. He tried to forget that specific event strongly, but it was difficult when a co-worker demanded a change simply because you preferred men to women.

At the end of his rope, Kakashi had decided to simply take a walk through Soho until he came up with another idea to find Obito Uchiha.

The idea hit him as he got himself a cup of coffee to keep going.

 _Coffee._ Of course!

A police career left you with an unhealthy coffee addiction formed from the long days spent on a case and that didn’t suddenly change after leaving the ranks. So, where could you find a coffee addict? In a coffee shop, obviously!

It would be like looking for the needle in a haystack, but it was Kakashi’s only idea at the moment and he hadn’t any plans today anyway. With new enthusiasm, the silver-haired detective began to seek out every coffee shop in Soho.

* * *

Obito had just finished his shift at Café Shelly’s and came out from the back to tell his boss, he’d be leaving.

Shelly was an elderly woman that had no children herself and had kind of adopted Obito as her grandchild when he had stumbled over the shop a year ago. She didn’t know what he had done previously but she accepted that he preferred working in the back where no one could see him. Nevertheless, she sometimes tried to get him in the front, telling him that he shouldn’t be ashamed of his scars. Obito knew she meant good, but it wasn’t only the scars that he wanted to hide.

“I’m going home, Shelly. The shelves are all stocked up and I’ve done some of your paperwork, just don’t forget to sign them and we can send them off tomorrow,” he called as he walked out, loosening the knot of his apron.

“Obito.”

His head shot up as he heard his name uttered from a voice he didn’t know, eyes wide in panic. Nobody should know him here! Perplexed, he locked sight with the rude stranger from yesterday, who looked just as handsome as the day before which was truly unfair.

“Obito Uchiha!”

The man strolled up to him determined and despite being shocked, Obito stayed, until the moment he noticed the familiar badge.

_Homicide and Major Crime Command._

Feeling a biting coldness filling his body, Obito did the only thing he could think of. Before the man reached the counter, he turned on his heel and fled. There was a back door that would allow him to escape unnoticed and as soon as he reached the subway station a few streets over, he’d be gone.

* * *

“What do you think you’re doing, young man?” an elderly woman crossed Kakashi’s path, stopping him from following the other man.

“Excuse me, Miss. I just need to talk to him.”

However, the woman didn’t move, face changing into an unhappy grimace.

“I don’t think my employee wants to talk to you. You should go.”

That sparked another idea in Kakashi, and he couldn’t believe how much luck he had today.

Showing the woman his badge, he said with all authority he could muster up that moment: “Miss, I’m Detective Inspector Kakashi Hatake from Homicide and Major Crime Command and I need the address of your employee. It is urgent.”

The woman eyed the badge disgruntled but sighed and waved him into the back. Scowling, she searched for the needed files.

“Is Obito in trouble?” she asked with her back turned to Kakashi, but he could still hear the worry in her voice.

“No, Miss-”

“Shelly.”

“No, Miss Shelly. I need to speak with Obito about an old case he worked on.”

Frowning, Shelly handed Kakashi Obito’s address – some street over in Hoxton – muttering: “I didn’t know he had worked for the police.”

Finally having an address for Obito’s home, Kakashi quickly bid the woman goodbye. On his way to the nearest subway station, he played with the piece of paper in his hand. It didn’t make much sense for Obito to have an apartment or house over in Hoxton when he worked here in Soho and went to the hospital in Lambeth. Perhaps, he had hoped to confuse possible tails that way.

* * *

In the end it turned out that the apartment in Hoxton was empty and most likely a safe house.

Kakashi couldn’t help himself but laugh out loud – probably scaring any passers-by – Obito Uchiha was smart, he had to give it to him. Smirking to himself, he returned to his own house for the night.

He’d find Obito tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

Obito wasn’t sure whether he wanted to laugh or murder the silver-haired man.

The weird detective had lunged in Café Shelly’s for a week now and Obito wouldn’t even be surprised if the man also slept there. For the entire time he hadn’t been able to go to work, leaving Shelly alone and it was grating on his nerves. He had thought the detective would let it go or lose interest if he just stayed away for long enough, but a week in and the man still came. He would just sit there, drinking coffee and working through paperwork, regularly analysing his surroundings in case Obito would have entered and he had missed it.

The first day after meeting the detective in his workplace, Obito hadn’t left his apartment in fear of meeting him again.

The second day he had careful watched Dean Street for any sign of the silver-haired detective and when he had seen him, he had locked his front door just for good measures.

Hacking the CCTVs for his street was risky but it was the only way Obito could check if the detective were there. And it wasn’t like it was his first time.

Having an apartment in the same street as his job had been nice for as long as nobody had known where he worked. Now, that the detective knew, he couldn’t even go out without fearing to meet him.

Four days in and he had to climb out of a back window to go shopping in the nearby Tesco Metro because he had run out of food.

Seven days and Obito snapped.

Clad in a dark hoodie with the hood covering his entire face, he cornered the detective in a dimly lit alley way on his way home. Slipping behind the man, he pressed him against a wall, elbow pressing against the man’s neck.

“What do you want from me?” Obito asked lowly, an unspoken threat hanging in the air.

The detective seemed barely affected by the ambush, asking calmly: “You’re Obito Uchiha, right?”

Irritated, Obito put a bit more pressure in his hold.

“You’re a detective, right?” he asked scornfully. “How long do you think it will take NSY to fire you if I report you for stalking?”

The detective had the audacity to smirk, dark eyes full of mirth and arrogance.

“A long time since I’ve got permission to stalk you. How long do you think you’ll get for hindering an investigation?”

Choosing to ignore the snide mark on the end, Obito sneered. “Who would give an asshole like yourself permission?”

If possible, the smirk on the detective’s face grew; making it impossible hard to not admit how gorgeous he was. In any other situation Obito would have been melting at the combination of hot dark eyes, unruly silver hair and a body to die for. The faint scar over his eye just making him appear even more handsome.

“Commander Mikoto.”

Did he mention a voice like honey?

“Aunt Mikoto? Has she gone insane in her age? Surely, Sasuke can’t be such a pain to drive her crazy. I was sure she’d have another couple of years,” muttered Obito more to himself than to the detective.

“So, you do remember your family. Don’t worry I won’t tell her you said that.”

Had he said honey? Nope, it was definitely a hot scorching fire. Glaring, he tightened his hold just a tad bit more, satisfied to hear the man breathing harshly. His family was a sore topic, and he didn’t appreciate a stranger talking to him like he knew what was up.

“You have no idea what’s going on, so leave my family out of it,” he growled into the man’s ear.

Suddenly, Obito found himself on the ground with the silver-haired man straddling him and holding his wrist over his head tightly. Wide—eyed, Obito squirmed, trying to throw the stranger off. Too close. The man was too close. His skin burned; he couldn’t breathe. God, why couldn’t he breathe?!

Kakashi had planned to give another sarcastic remark, something to brashly inform the man about the return of an old acquaintance, when the man had suddenly tensed, pupils blown wide and lungs gasping for air. His hood had fallen so Kakashi had sight of his entire face and a front row seat to watch the panic cloud his eyes.

“It’s okay,” he muttered softly, easing up on the force holding Obito’s wrist together. “just focus on my voice and try to copy my breathing. Listen, in and out. Slowly.”

He continued to lead the brunet through the panic attack until said man croaked: “Get off.”

In any other case, Kakashi would have ignored the command but he figured he had put the man through enough already, never mind that he still needed to inform him. It would be in his best interest to keep the man moderately functional. Docile, he got up, wiping invisible dust from his leatherjacket, and held up a hand for Obito to take.

It didn’t surprise him wen the man eyed his hand venomously and stood up by himself.

“I know we had a bad start-”

“You spilt coffee over me, insulted me and then stalked me for a week! I think we had a bit more than a bad start!” Obito interrupted him harshly, face pulled into a fierce scowl as he jammed his finger against Kakashi’s chest.

Soothing, the silver-haired detective held up his hands in surrender.

“To be fair, it was your fault that we collided,” he muttered.

Dark eyes glared at him heatedly.

“You really want to go there? Bastard, if you had looked up from your stupid files you would have seen me!”

Another sharp reply lay on the tip of his tongue as Kakashi remembered the actual reason for his undeniable stalking.

“Okay, okay. Let’s just move on,” he muttered. “Where was I? Ah, yeah. So, Commander Mikoto sort of gave me permission to stalk you…” Kakashi wasn’t even sure the woman knew he had been looking for her nephew, much less found and cornered him like a scared animal. But Shisui or Itachi would have surely told her about his plan to find Obito. “because I need your help with a case. It’s really important and I’ve already lost a week of valuable time because you’re damn good in hiding your tracks, so could we go back to my office and start?”

With every word that left the stranger’s mouth, Obito’s muscle tensed further, his eyes searching frantically for the nearest escape route and his body went into flight modus.

“How about we start with your name?” he pressed out croakily.

Perplexed, the silver-haired man stared at him.

“Right,” shaking his head confused, the man scratched the back of his neck embarrassed. “I’m Detective Inspector Kakashi Hatake from Homicide and Major Crime Command.”

The name of his old workplace was enough to drive fear into every cell of his body.

“Okay,” Obito barely got the words out, his tongue heavy like lead. “Bye.”

Faster than Kakashi could react, Obito grabbed for the rusty fire escape nearby – whilst the detective had been talking, he had slowly inched his way there – scaling up the house with quick, steady moves.

Not one to be outplayed, Kakashi followed Obito swiftly, calling out: “Just listen! He’s back! The man you called Madara, he’s back and already killed another person.”

Perhaps, it hadn’t been Kakashi’s brightest idea to tell someone who was quite obviously emotionally unstable about the murderer that was after his family whilst said unstable person was climbing a house wall on a rusty fire escape that shook under the weight of the grown man.

Obito had almost reached the top when he heard Kakashi, and he shut down. His body froze, his mind went blank, and he felt himself falling until someone snatched his wrist firmly, stopping his fall.

Somehow, he ended back down on the ground uninjured, slouching against another person.

Awkwardly, Kakashi patted Obito’s back not knowing what else to do. He had already gotten one heart attack when the man had suddenly fallen – Mikoto would certainly not appreciate him killing her nephew – and comforting someone was so far out of his comfort zone, he didn’t even know where to begin. Cut him some slack, he was trying!

“Can we talk somewhere else?” he asked carefully. “It’s really important that we talk, and I don’t think you should be alone right now.”

On any other day, Obito would have gone to the nearest café or just told the detective to fuck off, but today he was done. He had just learned that a psychopath was still after his family and dropped from a fire escape, he was allowed to be a bit out of it. With short, croaky instructions Obito told Kakashi his address, letting the detective lead him home.

Kakashi didn’t know whether to applaud Obito for avoiding him for so long or to question his own abilities. Obito Uchiha owned a small, shabby apartment in 7 Dean Street, literally just five minutes away from Café Shelly’s.

Wordlessly, Kakashi led the unresponsive man into his apartment and settled him carefully into the only chair in the small kitchen. It had been the first room you saw when coming in and despite was curious nature, he didn’t want to snoop through the Uchiha’s apartment. Concerned, Kakashi eyed the man as he sat tensely, staring into the nothingness with an empty look in his eyes. When Obito started to shiver, he sighed quietly and left to search for a blanket. He hadn’t wanted to snoop but he had no other choice now.

The apartment consisted of three rooms as well as a small bathroom – a kitchen, a living room, and a bedroom – it was quite shabby even for London’s standards, not something he would have expected from a retired detective. On the other hand, Obito probably chose to live like that in case he needed to disappear quickly.

Scratching his neck, Kakashi hesitantly entered Obito’s bedroom, the probability to find a blanket in there was far higher than if he had looked in the living room. His desire to find out more about the intriguing man and the whisper to leave him his privacy warred in his mind, neither getting the upper hand. In the end, he only glanced passingly over the bedroom as he grabbed the blanket and walked back out.

“Obito,” he called the man but the Uchiha was still unresponsive.

Hesitantly, Kakashi wrapped the blanket around the man, making sure he was tightly tucked in. He couldn’t help but notice the chapped lips as he was so close to the man. His eyes wandered to the scars covering his face and he wondered again how he had gotten them. They gave the Uchiha something brave and fierce. God, it was so unfair that every Uchiha was unbelievable gorgeous.

“Do you want some coffee, Obito? I’m gonna make us some coffee,” he muttered to himself, turning to the cupboards on the other side.

There was an old-fashioned coffee machine on the counter, now he only needed to find the coffee beans, it couldn’t be that difficult.

After successfully finding said coffee beans – and no he had not needed to open every damn cupboard – and throwing on the coffee machine – he’d deny having cursed like a sailor until the thing was working – the silver-haired detective settled against the counter, waiting for the other man to get out of shock.

Maybe he should call someone that knew how to deal with shock…

* * *

_He was panting, air just barely getting into his lungs. His pulse was racing, fear leading his movements._

_Madara, Madara, Madara_

_That was the name of the assassin Danzo had sent after his family._

_God, he prayed he wouldn’t come too late. Please, don’t let him be too late. He couldn’t lose them._

_Shisui, Itachi, Sasuke, Aunt Mikoto, Uncle Fugaku._

_They didn’t know how much Obito loved them, they didn’t know!_

_God, he hadn’t seen his little brother in days! The thought of Shisui alone at home, waiting for him till deep into the night only to go to bed disappointed, forced tears into his eyes. Shisui had turned twenty-two a month ago and Obito had only wished him a short, meaningless happy birthday before spending the rest of the day holed up in Orochimaru’s previous hideout._

_A memory of a young boy with curly hair and a big smile forced his way into his mind. The boy was running away and Obito was chasing him, both laughing loudly. They crashed into Aunt Mikoto’s legs, the woman wobbled, and holding her large stomach, but she too laughed cheerfully and bent down to catch them in her arms._

_Obito ran faster, pushing pedestrians roughly out of the way._

_He would not allow himself to be too late._

_…_

_Red fans._

_Red fans painted with fresh blood – it was still running down the wood like tears – were painted on Aunt Mikoto’s doorframe, and Obito’s heart beat so hard he’d thought he’d collapse._

_Shisui hadn’t been at home and Obito could have cried in fear._

_On the doorstep he forced himself to stop, pulling out his gun with surprisingly steady hands. He was trained for such situation, it would all end good. It had to._

_Taking a deep breath, he quietly pushed the front door open, slowly sneaking inside. Aunt Mikoto would have his head for entering without backup, but he didn’t have time to wait._

_A deep laugh echoed through the lower floor as Obito inched towards the living room. That was unmistakably Sasuke crying. God, what was that monster doing to his baby cousin?!_

_…_

_He caught the boy, turning his back to Madara as he shielded Sasuke with his body. A gunshot rung through the air, interrupting the blaring noise of the sirens, warning of the task force’s arrival._

_…_

_He was running again. Fear gave him strength to push through, to run another mile to reach his fiancée’s apartment. God, hadn’t he gone through enough today?!_

_Faster, faster, faster._

_‘Don’t give up now,’ he chanted to himself._

_Hell, the blood loss made him weak in his knees, but he needed to move. He stumbled into a pedestrian, muttering a quiet apology as the man pushed him away harshly, hissing something rude._

_Had the streets always been so close? Why the fuck was everything spinning? He didn’t have time for this now!_

_…_

_Dark liquid covered his hands as he frantically pressed them against the wound._

_Pressure. Pressure. Pressure._

_Why was nobody coming?! He needed help!_

_“Help! God, help me!”_

_A voice cried out and it took Obito a minute to realise that that pitiful scream had been his own._

_…_

_The doctor shook his head pitying and Obito’s world collapsed._

_Why? Why him? What had he ever done to deserve that? How could he go on?_

_…_

_He heard his badge clatter against the desk as he left the office, but he didn’t turn around. He needed to go, to leave, to disappear. He could not stay here._

_…_

“Okay,” Obito breathed out, voice barely more than a whisper. “Tell me.”

Kakashi eyed the black-haired man sceptical, sipping on his third cup of coffee. It had taken Obito an hour to come back, perhaps, it truly wasn’t good for him to be involved again. Maybe he should take Itachi up on his offer instead. On the other hand, he honestly believed he needed Obito’s help to catch Madara as fast as possible.

Obito Uchiha was the only one to ever having found the man. He could do it again, of that Kakashi was certain.

Every file he had read implied that the Uchiha had been good in his job, he dare say exceptionally. It was unfortunate that his personal file was missing, so Kakashi had to work with the scraps and bits he could read between the lines.

Obito Uchiha was brave, ambitious, and fierce.

“A week ago, patrol found a body in Islington Green. She was barely recognisable, and her eyes were gouged out. All around the body Uchiwa fans had been painted with her blood. Commander Mikoto told me to read up on the case of the attempted murder of the Uchiha family and it turned out the culprit is most likely the same. Those fans are his signature. I figured the detective who had prevented said murder would be a helpful hand in catching the man.”

Kakashi explained the situation calmly and without emotion. If someone told him that a crazy killer was after his family, he would have wanted the facts and not some half-hearted pleasantries. That was if he had any family left to lose.

Obito’s finger tapped a fast-paced rhythm on his thigh as he bit his lip and stared into the void.

Madara – if it wasn’t some copycat – had been in Islington, which was only a few boroughs away from Kennington and where his family lived. Madara knew where they lived; none of them had moved afterwards, despite the logical reason for it.

A traitorous part of his mind whispered that they were waiting for him to come home. Which was ridiculous. He would be able to find them wherever they moved to; his underground network had been and still was impeccable. And it was foolish to wait for something that would never happen anyway.

“What do you want from me?” he heard himself asking weakly, watching the silver-haired detective closely.

That’s what all this was about in the end anyway. What did Detective Inspector Kakashi Hatake – and now he remembered the stories he had heard about the prodigious son of the White Fang, the one that had put Danzo Shimura and his ROOT organisation on trial – want from a retired and unstable detective hat couldn’t be found anywhere else.

“Come back to New Scotland Yard and join my team.”

Obito had feared such request; he had almost expected it when the detective had told him about a case, but it still hit him unprepared.

“You need to leave,” he whispered faintly.

The Hatake might have been taller and fitter than himself, but Obito still managed to push the man out of his home.

“Do not come back, Detective. Do not tell my family where I am. Just catch that man.”

Without waiting for the other man to react, Obito slammed the door shut and slid down, cowering into a small ball as tremors shook his body. 


End file.
